Ask the Experts

Garden City Hospital is here to help. Now you can browse, search and view answers to frequently asked health questions. Have a personal health question you need answered? We can do that too! Simply submit your question and we will get it to the appropriate GCH health expert for an answer.

Ask the Experts is for general information purposes only. It should never be thought of as medical advice or treatment, nor should it be used in place of a thorough medical screening or an exam by a licensed medical professional. Medical advice should be sought from an emergency room, urgent care center, or licensed medical professional. If you need help finding a physician, use our online physician directory to locate a Garden City Hospital Health Expert that’s right for you.

Check the Sunday issue or your local O&E for more answers from the GCH Health Experts.

Note: Questions are selected both randomly and based on relevance or frequency. Not all submitted questions will be answered. Answers will be posted on GCH.org and not supplied directly to the submitter. To maintain personal privacy, we do not require any personal information be given to submit questions.

Q

Our son has suffered a partial rotator cuff tear from playing football. We’ve spoken to an orthopedic surgeon who recommends surgery as the best solution. Our friends have encouraged us to try physical therapy before considering surgery. We’re not sure what to do. Can you shed some light on the matter?

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Your physician has received formal training, has the most knowledge about your son’s personal situation and is the best resource for determining a course of treatment. However, if... read more

Source: Jennifer Holland, Director of Rehabilitation Therapy

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Your physician has received formal training, has the most knowledge about your son’s personal situation and is the best resource for determining a course of treatment. However, if you are not comfortable with a diagnosis, I always suggest getting a second opinion. In the event you want to explore a more conservative alternative to surgery, you may want to try physical therapy (PT) first. People with smaller tears usually improve with physical therapy. In some cases, patients have vastly improved with a combination of physical therapy and steroid injections. If shoulder strength and function do not improve after three to six months of physical therapy, surgical repair may be considered.

The rotator cuff is composed of four muscles, each of which has a tendon that attaches to the upper arm bone. These tendons form a cuff around the head of the upper arm bone. The rotator cuff tendons may tear as a result of injury, chronic over use, or a combination of both.

The treatment goals for a torn rotator cuff are to recover lost strength, improve the function of the shoulder, and treat any underlying tendinitis. Conservative treatment is adequate in the vast majority of cases, although younger athletes with larger tears, particularly affecting the dominant arm, may be candidates for surgical repair. Following shoulder surgery, your physician will determine a rehabilitation plan for your unique situation.

It’s important to note that symptoms of rotator cuff tear often include pain and weakness of the shoulder, although some people have few or no symptoms. In addition, the severity of the tear does not necessarily correlate with the severity of a person's pain; in other words, a person with a partial tear may have severe pain while a person with a complete tear may have little or no pain. However, if left untreated, the condition and symptoms may worsen.